Skip to content
fluentbyear

ITALIAN VERB

pregare

to ask, to beg; La prego: please, formally

  • #359 most used
  • Regular -are verb
  • Past participle: pregato
  • Gerund: pregando

Conjugation

Tap any form to hear it. The part that changes is in colour.

Present

Presente · now, habits and facts

  1. io I ask
  2. tu you ask
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she asks
  4. noi we ask
  5. voi you all ask
  6. loro they ask

Past

Passato prossimo · finished actions: “ho parlato”

  1. io I asked
  2. tu you asked
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she asked
  4. noi we asked
  5. voi you all asked
  6. loro they asked

Imperfect

Imperfetto · “used to” and “was …ing”

  1. io I used to ask
  2. tu you used to ask
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she used to ask
  4. noi we used to ask
  5. voi you all used to ask
  6. loro they used to ask

Future

Futuro semplice · plans and guesses

  1. io I will ask
  2. tu you will ask
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she will ask
  4. noi we will ask
  5. voi you all will ask
  6. loro they will ask

Conditional

Condizionale · “would”, polite requests

  1. io I would ask
  2. tu you would ask
  3. lui, lei, Lei he/she would ask
  4. noi we would ask
  5. voi you all would ask
  6. loro they would ask

Present subjunctive

Congiuntivo presente · wishes, doubts, “che …”

  1. io (that) I ask
  2. tu (that) you ask
  3. lui, lei, Lei (that) he/she ask
  4. noi (that) we ask
  5. voi (that) you all ask
  6. loro (that) they ask

Imperative

Imperativo · requests and orders: tu, Lei, noi, voi

  1. tu ask!
  2. Lei ask! (formal)
  3. noi ask! (let’s)
  4. voi ask! (all of you)

How to use pregare

One sentence for each tense, the way people say it.

  1. Present

    Ti prego, non dirlo a nessuno.

    Please, don't tell anyone.

  2. Past

    L'ho pregata di restare ancora un po'.

    I begged her to stay a little longer.

  3. Imperfect

    Mia nonna pregava ogni sera prima di dormire.

    My grandmother prayed every evening before sleeping.

  4. Future

    Vi pregherò di fare silenzio durante il film.

    I'll ask you to keep quiet during the film.

  5. Conditional

    La pregherei di aspettare fuori.

    I'd ask you to wait outside.

  6. Present subjunctive

    Non serve che tu mi preghi, lo faccio volentieri.

    There's no need to beg me, I'm glad to do it.

  7. Imperative

    Prega che non piova domenica!

    Pray it doesn't rain on Sunday!

Good to know

  • La prego, ti prego: please, formally and among friends. Pregare qualcuno di fare qualcosa: ti prego di aspettare.
  • Pregare is also to pray: prega ogni sera.

Where you hear pregare

The lessons that teach a form of it, and how they say it.

Italian · Advanced Level 1

  • La prego di rispondere presto. Please answer soon.
  • L'ho pregato di aspettare. I asked him to wait.
  • La pregherò di firmare qui. I will ask you to sign here.
5
A Formal Letter

Advanced Level 1 · La prego di trovare in allegato i documenti.

Needs a subscription

Verbs like this one

The same pattern, on other verbs: regular -are verb.